Tuesday, July 9, 2013

A few more projects

I've been slowly and surely settling into my new place. The goal has been to make it a comfortable, beautiful, and creative space--without spending a ton of money. One of my favorite recent finds was this beautiful and long Kuba applique textile from Congo:

I've been admiring these kinds of textiles for years, so I was thrilled to find such a nice one at an African market--and luckily the seller was more than happy to bargain with me. I mounted it on the wall using the same velcro technique that I described in this post.

I also made a second button tufted headboard! Most of the supplies were leftover from the first headboard, so that certainly helped. I decided to go for a bright turquoise-blue for the guest room. It matches the binding on the quilt I made a few years ago. I also made the blue & white throw pillow using fabric from a dress I had made while studying abroad in Cameroon. I had always loved that fabric, but the dress was not a great fit--I'm so happy now that I can enjoy the print on a regular basis.

Perhaps my most ambitious--and intimidating--project was reupholstering a wingback chair. I received this pair of nice, older chairs from my mom when she moved to a new house. Although flame stitch patterns have definitely come back into style in recent years, I don't think the peachy pastel color scheme could pass for contemporary. I got a lot of comments from visitors on my interesting choice in furniture! The chairs were in great condition, very comfortable, and had hardly been used in their ~50 years of existence. I ended up only keeping and reupholstering one of them, due to space constraints. I also simplified the back cushion so I didn't drive myself totally crazy.

The final result was just about as good as I could have hoped for my first real upholstery job! People and animals alike seem to favor this chair now that it's looking more modern. I also found the perfect throw pillow, another African textile, at a nearby yard sale. I don't always have a lot of confidence in myself in the interior design department, so it's always such a nice feeling when everything finally settles into place! I guess it's true that if you just surround yourself with things you like--regardless of whether they are trendy, or what everyone else is doing--you'll end up with a space you love.

Before our last guests arrived, I went on a picture-hanging spree. This is one of my favorite vignettes: a couple wonderful paintings I scored for a song at the local antique malls, a little painting I made, and some antique spools from my Aunt.

My knitting has been very sporadic over the past couple years--though I'm sure there are a few projects I've neglected to post here! Here's a recent favorite for my new niece or nephew, who will be arriving any day. It's the Sunnyside Baby Sweater in a variegated emerald green color that is sure to look gorgeous on any of my little relatives! I chose a larger size so the little one could grow into it.

About Me

I'm an art conservator by day. When not working on artifacts, I can often be found in the kitchen whipping up something tasty and unusual, or creating something by hand. Lately, I've been fascinated with vintage clothing patterns for both sewing and knitting.